UNDERSTANDING RISING HEALTH AND MEDICAL COSTS FOR INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE

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TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OUT OF RISING HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS

Are you bewildered and angry at rising premiums? Why are the rates going up? Over the past three months I have read numerous articles in newspapers and trade magazines regarding this matter. Here are some reasons all industry experts agree on:

  1. Rising medical care costs in the USA
  2. Rising cost of drugs
  3. Increased use of drugs by medical practitioners
  4. Government mandates requiring conditions like alcoholism to be covered

One domestic company experienced health care cost increases at an annualized rate of about 22 percent and prescription drug costs at nearly 40 percent. Besides helping international clients, Good Neighbor Insurance also provides coverage for people living in Arizona. We write insurance for many of the large carriers like Cigna, Blue Cross, Fortis, and HealthNet. These companies have raised their rates as much as 50 percent in recent years.

People on international insurance plans know that international health insurance is different from, and less expensive than, domestic insurance, so they feel increases should not be the same for international insurance. That would be so if all the people that had international insurance got their health care outside the USA. The fact is that 80 percent of the healthcare for those on international insurance is received in the USA. Thus, the increase in international health insurance rates is also tied to the vagaries of American domestic health care costs.